The present invention relates to vehicle accessories and more importantly to storage racks for carrying objects in vehicles.
A common practice is to store objects such as cardboard sunshades and other bulky items behind the front seat of a car. This practice is disadvantageous in that the objects can get lost or damaged by migrations under the seat, they can be damaged by the feet of rear passengers of the vehicle, and they can be damaged by water that can sometimes seep onto the floor. Moreover, many such objects are awkward to retrieve from the floor.
It is known to provide storage holders and racks for use either on or behind vehicle seats. For example, holders for containers which can rest on the seat cushion and be retained between the seat and the back are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,640,595 to Byford, 2,962,198 to Bell, and 2,784,889 to Kennedy. Also, racks that hang behind the seat from the top of the seat back are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,767,895 to Smith and 2,853,219 to Schwartz. Further, racks that are supported on the floor behind the seat are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,358,041 to Vetter and 2,008,372 to Tipson.
The storage holders and racks of the prior art exhibit one or more of the following disadvantages:
1. They are not suitable for storing cardboard sunshades in that the sunshade, even when folded, would not fit therein;
2. They are large and bulky, and thus difficult to store when not in use;
3. They are expensive to manufacture, being large and of complex construction.
Thus there is a need for a storage carrier for vehicles that provides convenient storage of bulky objects such as cardboard sunshades, that is easy to use and inexpensive to manufacture.